11:10 pm: The trade is official, according to a press release from the Pacers.
8:01 pm: The Pacers are moving into the second round, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, who reports (via Twitter) that Indiana will acquire the 38th pick from the Bulls to add former Purdue star Braden Smith.
Chicago will receive Kam Jones, future swaps and cash from Indiana, per Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). Those second-round swaps will be in 2028 and 2030, reports Tony East of Forbes and Circle City Spin (via Twitter).
Jones is the first NBA player to be included in a trade agreement since the draft began on Tuesday. He’s entering his second season after being selected No. 38 overall last year. Jones’ $2.2MM contract for next season was partially guaranteed for $1.1MM.
A native of Indiana, Smith spent all four of his college seasons with the Boilermakers and earned numerous awards, including being named to first-team All-America as a junior and senior. Smith, a pass-first point guard, became the NCAA’s all-time leader in assists for men’s basketball in 2025/26, passing Bobby Hurley.
Purdue was wildly successful with Smith running the helm, winning 29, 34, 24 and 30 games. He averaged 14.3 points, 8.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 steals on .440/.362/.825 shooting splits in 39 games (34.5 minutes per contest) as a senior, numbers in line with his career college averages (13.0 PPG, 7.4 APG, 4.5 RPG, 1.7 SPG on .436/.385/.832 shooting).
While Smith is viewed as an excellent ball-handler and play-maker on top of being a capable scorer, he’s extremely small by NBA standards, measuring just 5’10.25″ without shoes and weighing 166.6 pounds at the combine in May. The Pacers will be hoping Smith can overcome his physical limitations to continue to thrive at the NBA level.
The plan is for Smith to sign a two-way contract, a source tells Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link).
He won’t face any pressure to play rotation minutes right away, since the Pacers expect to have Tyrese Haliburton healthy and also have Andrew Nembhard, T.J. McConnell and Quenton Jackson, though Jackson’s contract for next season is only partially guaranteed for $275K.
The second-round swaps are interesting for the Bulls. It’s relatively rare for a trade to involve second-round swaps, but the variability of the new lottery reform changes mean those selections could land just about anywhere if Indiana is among the 16 lottery teams (as opposed to the current 14). For at least the next three drafts starting in 227, the first 16 picks in the second round will be the reverse of the first 16 in the first round.
As for Jones, his rookie season was derailed by a back injury. He didn’t make his season debut until mid-December and the left-handed guard didn’t show much for the Pacers when he was healthy, struggling on both sides of the ball in limited action. Chicago will take a flier on him, though it’s worth noting the former Marquette standout’s contract is only partially guaranteed.
